Beauty and the Beast
by Dejavu1978
Summary: a genetically altered Ryback had no hopes of being anything more than THEIR puppet & he never planned to fall in love until he saw Jaymie. Instantly, he loved her and instantly he put her at risk. Jaymie never thought taking a position in a secret facility would lead her down such a dark path and she never imagined how much her life would change once his feelings were known. AU fic
1. Chapter 1

This story was inspired by a series I saw on television not long ago. It is based on an idea from the series, but that is where the similarities will end. I hope you will enjoy it. :)

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The bright lights from the helicopter stung his eyes and the falling hail stung his face. He had given up trying to tear his way out of the net that hoisted him into the air. He had been on the run for nearly a year after his escape from their facility. he was tired of hiding and he was tired of fighting.

Five years before, he had been a normal man. He had a future, or at least a dream of one. He had a career in the military, a stepping stone toward his future career path. But his own greed had destroyed him. He hated being on the front line of the politician's war and he wanted out. He refused to do it dishonorably and that left him only one choice; to sign on with the secret experimental soldier's platoon.

They made him into a monster and worse, they owned him. He would never be normal again and he would never be released. Those truths caused him to break free and run, but their eyes were every where and they always found him. He was the last of the freaks, everyone else had rebelled and been gunned down right before his eyes. He winced as a gun was fired at him, sure he was about to suffer the same fate as the world faded.

He woke up hours later feeling sluggish. He wanted to sit up and see where he was, but his eyelids were heavy and he ended up closing them again. He forced them open again and again, able to catch a glimpse of his surroundings for a moment. He was in a bed, he knew that and he thought he saw what looked like a kitchen directly in front of him, then he succumbed to slumber.

"I think we should destroy him." He heard a familiar set of voices. They seemed to be arguing. He kept his eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep.

"Vince, he is the best combination of inter cross species we have created. I don't think we should shut the door on this experiment just yet." Heyman, the doctor who had given him the injections argued for his survival.

"He's already escaped. I'm not willing to give up the existence of our department because one of our soldiers is running around on a killing rampage."

"He was scared." the doctor argued. "His most dominate trait is that of a wild cat and any animal will flee when they fear for their own safety. We are dealing with animal instincts here. He's contained. He won't get out of that glass. I think we can tame this one. He's not like the others and if my studies are right, we are on our way to finally possessing the perfect weapon. I need to study more extensively and then we can use the same formula on others."

"That would bring in more money if we can successfully deliver. Fine. Study him. Do what you need, but if he gets loose again, I want him killed on sight and I want no traces of his existence left behind."

"That's cool boss. No problem."

Ryback rose and stood against the glass. He stood eye to eye with his creator.

"You're my property now, Ryback." he smirked, the corner of his lips curling. The beast inside of him raged. His eyes glowed yellow and his veins enlarged and became prominent on his face and body. He growled and raced toward the glass walls that surrounded him. Heyman laughed. Ryback beat on it with animal force, but he could not break free.

"Howl all you want big boy. You're not getting out." Then he walked away.

"Here is your badge." The woman behind the desk slid a piece of plastic to her. Jaymie took it. The picture looked okay, but she didn't think it looked like her. "Don't loose it. You can't access anything without it and of course you know how important security is around here." Jaymie nodded. Her name had been ran through an extensive background check and she had to sit through a polygraph. She had suspicions that she had been followed and after the interview she had learned that she had not been paranoid. The organization had paid close attention to everyone that she was close to, which were few and even noted people she came in contact with on a daily basis, people whom she did not even know by name. Thankfully none of them were questionable and she was offered a job. Jaymie, a young woman who had only worked in menial janitorial fields didn't have the experience she would need to move into a new career. She had felt trapped until she had answered a small ad in the paper. It was so tiny she had nearly missed it herself. When she had arrived at the large building that appeared abandoned, she thought she had some how been lured into some predators trap. She was frightened when a man in a black suit approached her and led her inside. Then she relaxed a bit while she waited in a waiting room that looked normal. She was called into an office and listened to a job description that included the basic cleaning, sweeping, mopping and maintaining. It all seemed normal until her salary was discussed, then she thought it was a joke. Who paid so much for a maid? It sounded absurd and she walked out believing she would never hear from them again.

A month later, she was working her same old job that she hated, still hunting for something that paid a little more, then she got the call. She felt slightly violated when she was clued in on their extensive digging into her life, but as they explained more she understood why.

"This is all top secret, Jaymie." The woman explained. "You are not just a custodial worker. You will be employed by the government. Everything you see and hear can not be spoken of. You could say that you'll be living a secret double life. Please don't accept if you can not keep our secrets."

"I don't have much of a life to hide anything from." She shrugged in agreement and then took a long, long drive with her until they reached a military compound, blindfolded the entire way, which scared her again.

She was escorted to small room where she was left alone in a room with nothing but the one solitary metal chair in the middle. She sat and waited looking at nothing but white walls and floors until a neatly dressed woman in a doctors jacket came in.

"Hi, Jaymie. I'm Amanda." she smiled warmly. "Thank you so much for coming today. I apologize for the secrecy, but I assure you it's necessary."

"Okay," she scrutinized.

"Jaymie, you have no family, you are new to town and you have yet to make any close bonds." Amanda began. "We have interviewed a dozen applicants or so and you are the one I have chosen for this opportunity."

"I don't know if I understand. I applied for a custodial position, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." she laughed. "This is all overwhelming, I know." Amanda had a warm smile and it helped her relax. "I have to admit I was a little bias when I was looking." she whispered. "I was hoping to hire another woman. I feel a little out numbered around this place." she touched Jaymie's shoulder. "Look, it's a real job and it pays so well because of the conditions in the contracts. They pay for our silence and its not a bad deal. Not for people like us."

"Like us?"

"I don't have any family ties either. Most of us don't. So, we really don't miss anyone or anything and we don't have to lie to people we care about because our closest friends are usually part of it too."

"Part of what?"

"Government experimentation." she told her. "This is where we develop things for the military that no one could even begin to believe." she grinned. "It's fascinating and sometimes hard, but it was the best decision of my life."

"Okay, so what do I have to do? I'm not sure I want to commute in a blind fold to work every day."

"If you agree to the terms and accept my offer, I promise it will be the last time you have to."

"So, all I have to do is agree to never discuss anything I might now about what you do here?"

"Yup, that's it. After watching you, I was convinced you could do that better than the others. You're very quiet. A little shy and you only speak up when you absolutely have to. You spend your days off alone. You entertain yourself in your own apartment. I like that about you. This life wouldn't be a big change for you."

"Does that mean I can never go out or do anything?" she asked because part of the reason she never went out was because she couldn't afford to.

"You can come and go as you please. Oh, did I mention you will live on base? Expenses paid of course and you will also have a room mate. What do you say?"

"It sounds too good to be true, but I'm not crazy about the room mate part."

"I'm not either, but we don't have a lot of housing around here. There is one two bedroom place and its mine and yours if you agree. So we won't be as crowded as the others in the four bedroom homes."

"That doesn't seem to bad. Sure, I'd be crazy not to take this job."

"I'm happy you said that." she smiled. "So, I'll have you escorted back. Can you tie up your affairs and pack your things in three days?"

"Or less." Jaymie let herself get excited. So much of her life would change for the better and perhaps she could be part of a small society where she would be welcome and perhaps be part of some kind of a family.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a big adjustment, but Ryback tried to make his peace with his new life. He had almost anything he wanted and he was allowed to get on the internet even though everything he did and everyone he talked to was closely monitored. He had no reason to tell anyone what he truly was. How could he explain it? It was a dumb decision he had made hoping he could speed through his military time and move on to the life he wanted with the money he had joined for in the first place. Looking back he could see how impulsive he had been. He had been impatient all his life and he had finally learned his lesson, but he had learned it too late.

He inspected the glass walls that encased his home every day. Even when the animal inside him was provoked, he could not shatter it. It took nearly two months for him to stop trying. What bugged him most was how he could not hear what anyone outside the glass was saying. Usually he would shut them out, pushing a button and closing the blinds that was built inside the glass structure. Except one wall. The only wall that faced the outside world and let sunshine into his world. No one ever passed by this wall. Probably because it was only three foot from the drop off of a cliff. But he could stand close and look down and feel like he was flying over the small town below.

When the blinds were closed, he felt like he was in a normal home. He had a living room, a kitchen and a bedroom and luxurious bathroom which thankfully was always private at least to those passing by, but he knew there were camera's every where so the doctors and scientists could watch him whenever they pleased.

Those people had some great toys. They could monitor his basic vitals without touching him. They could X ray anything without him stopping what he was doing and he could only guess at the other things they could monitor about him.

Sometimes they would open the door that he know knew was in the corner. The entire angle would lift into the air when they wanted to speak to him face to face. But it was never a social visit. They always tranquilized him and he would wake up strapped to a table with wires stuck all over him. It always outraged him and he would turn into the animal he despised. That part of him was hard to control. When he was scared or angry he would loose control. His appearance would change and seeing himself made it worse. He was hideous with the purple and blue lines all over him. His eyes looked like a tigers and they almost glowed during the transformation. His fingernails grew as well. They grew at least an inch in length and had sharp points. He was also stronger and faster than he was when he was not the beast, but he could not control how hard he hit things … or people. That bothered him the most. At times when he only wanted to disarm or free himself, he had ended up killing.

They ran those tests on him more often now. They drew his blood, sometimes so much he would be weary, rendering their sedation unnecessary to return him to his cage.

"When can I leave this prison?" Ryback asked a man named John one day, but the man couldn't hear him through the glass until the scientist pressed a button. "When can I leave this prison?" he repeated.

"You really think you can run around the base like a normal human being?"

"I don't want to run." he said meekly. He knew he was beaten. "I just want to be part of life." he was lonely. He could hide himself in a book or an online world that he ran and created, but it didn't help the need he had for face to face companionship.

"Ryback."

"My name is Ryan." he corrected.

"Okay, Ryan. I can't let you out. If you hadn't ran off – things would be different."

"Heyman wanted to blow my head off. What would you have done?"

"The same thing, I guess." John sighed. "I know how you feel. I took their injections too."

"Yet, you're not in a cage."

"That's because the only thing affected was my eye sight." he laughed. "I can't say I miss those thick glasses." then he grew serious. "I'm sorry buddy."

John and Ryback were very close in boot camp. John had already gone through college but he wanted to use his degree in the military because his father had given his life to his country and he wanted to follow in footsteps as well as live out his dream. He had found a way to merge the two and Ryback envied him.

"John, are they working on a way to reverse this or I'm I always going to be this way?"

"I'm working on it, but … oh, I can't stand this." he looked around and then hit the button that turned off his sound to the outside and then his blinds were shut. Ryback sighed. He was truly alone in his world now.

An hour later, the corner lifted and John walked inside.

"I'm a little sick of talking to my best friend through a speaker." he smiled and sat down on the sofa after the door was closed and he was locked inside with Ryback. "They think you're going to tear me to shreds. They have the camera's rolling so they can watch." he laughed. John always managed to find humor in everything. "I brought us something." he threw him a can from the case he had carried in. "I miss you man."

"I miss this." Ryback laughed and took a long swig of the beer. "I miss being able to come and go whenever I want."

"I know." it seemed like old times sitting there with his best bud. "I am trying. All that schooling has to count for something doesn't it?"

"You've always been the smartest guy I've ever known. I'm betting everything on you."

"Heyman wants to find a way to clone you." John grinned.

"And I bet he has you and your team building the machine."

"No." John chuckled. "That's not in the budget and its far fetched. He thinks we can do it with your blood somehow."

"Don't tell me some dumb ass is going to let him inject him with my blood?"

"Already tried. The human immune system is a complicated road block. It destroyed the animal DNA before it had a chance to attach itself to anything."

"That's a good thing."

"I think we need to find a way to fix a few things before we go off infecting people."

"Like?" Ryback was skeptical then, wondering why John would want another human to go through what he saw Ryback go through every day.

"You need to be able to control when you change. You need to be able to contain the animal when you are in that state."

"I don't think some magic serum will do that."

"No. That's something you have to learn. Something we need to devise a program for."

"A mental rehab program. Nice." Ryback shook his head. "If this is irreversible. I'm all for that. John, I could live normally. I wouldn't have to be locked up. Hell, after the last few months in here I'd be happy to have a job on the base. I just want to feel normal again."

"I'll talk to him. That's all I can do." he got up to leave. "I do have an idea that might help a little. Do you trust me?"

"You've always had my back."


	3. Chapter 3

"Heyman, we can't come up with a serum that wears off after a few hours or even a day or so. It's obvious its permanent." Jaymie listened as she swept the lab. A blond headed man argued with his shorter balding counterpart often and she had grown bored with them. She had no idea what they were talking about most the time, but what she could understand was that the smaller man had expectations that were impossible according to the other.

"Try again."

"It's a waste of time, but it won't matter how long it lasts if we can teach him to control when and where he changes. It would be – better and cost less."

Heyman thought.

"John, maybe you're not that stupid after all. Explain."

"We need to exercise his brain. I think I've finally found a formula that can help. I want to inject him with it immediately and after we study the effects, I want to start the training. A rehab of sorts."

"You mean like his brain is damaged? You want to do rehabilitation like you would do on body parts after surgery."

"Yes."

"We'll try it. For a time."

"I need to be closer."

"He has a home outside your door. How much closer do you need him?"

"I need to work with him twenty four seven."

"It's your life." Heyman was busy with his cell and didn't seem interested in John's plan any longer. Jaymie watched him sign some papers before he scurried off.

For the most part, she was wallpaper when she was working. She didn't mind. She liked that she could work with her ear buds in if she wanted. They actually seemed to prefer her to work that way. John's work was the only thing that peaked her interest. He talked about a subject that she never saw. It seemed to be some kind of animal, but he acted like it was human. She figured he had become attached to whatever he was experimenting on which made her feel better because she knew he wouldn't want to do anything to hurt it. She had always hated tests being done on animals. Luckily she didn't have to witness it so far.

"You." For the first time the man noticed her and she wished she could shrink into the wall. "What's your name?" He snapped his fingers. "Jaymie, right?"

she nodded. She wasn't comfortable talking to people she didn't know. Amanda had been one of the few people she had felt comfortable with immediately.

"Come with me." she followed him because everyone who wore white lab coats was her boss. Hers was black like Amanda's and all the other servants on the base. They weren't military and they weren't scientists or medically trained, but they did play an important role; keeping them happy.

She still laughed about how Amanda had worn a white lab coat the day they had met. She had explained how they had wanted her to look intimidating when she interviewed. Jaymie thought they should have put her in fatigues to accomplish that.

"I'm going to need you exclusively for the next few months." he began. "I'll clear it with Amanda." she listened as John talked. She followed him through a series of locked steel doors that lifted every time he slid his card until he got to the final door. Where he had to enter a password as well as slide his card. Then he laid his hand over a small glass table and a green light scanned it. "I guess you could say you've been promoted. Don't worry, your salary will be adjusted accordingly." the door slid open. "you are about to see the most important and most protected secret in this entire building." She was shocked to see such a big room. There was a large enclosure that she could not see inside at the end, then a large floor in between that and another room that was longer than it was wide. Inside those windows she could see several people in white coats looking at monitors and charting. The space she stood in was much darker, only illuminated by the light from the thin rooms with the half windows. It reminded her of a commentators box at a football game.

"This is your station. You will be the only person to clean this area. I plan to stay here for the time being and you will be the only person to bring me anything I may need. I warn you that some of those things may take you off the base." He stopped at the walls that she could not see inside of. She quickly noticed that it was made of glass and that blinds kept them from seeing inside. "This is the only place you will not clean. You are never to step foot inside this enclosure. Do you understand."

She nodded.

"I'm having some alterations done and I think I'm going to expand it over here." he talked to her as if she had been his colleague for years. He handed her a clipboard and a pen. "You're my partner as of this moment. What we discuss is between us and no one else."

"I only do the cleaning." she was confused and wondered if he was confused by what she was skilled to do.

"I know. I don't want some know it all with a degree interjecting their opinion every two seconds. I need a real person." he grinned. He had an amazing smile that made her like him instantly. "Write this down." he pulled a measuring tape out of his pocket and began calling out numbers. Then he began to describe what he was doing. "I don't need a huge bedroom, but it will need to be big enough to suit my needs. I need a television of course. Nothing too big, but I am a guy..." he laughed. "And it needs to lock separately from the rest of it. Steel door. Probably double so nothing can penetrate it once its locked, but I don't want to be able to unlock it. I'm afraid I'm too personally involved to make that decision. That button will be out here and you will be the only person who will decide if it's safe to let me out or not."

"Maybe you should put in a door so you can come out here?" she bit her lip.

"That's a good idea, but I'm going to reprogram the main entrance that way it will only open with a code that you create after the panic button is activated. I knew you would be perfect for this. You have simple solutions that a brainiac wouldn't see. They would be trying to design it, create formulas and change everything I'm doing. Anyway, sometimes you need a different perspective."

"I'll do my best."

"I guess it's time for you meet Ryback." he sat with his hand on a button. "I'm not sure what state he'll be in. The most important thing for you to know is that he can't get through the glass. You're completely safe."

He pressed the button and the blinds lifted. She gasped and stepped back. Whatever it was had all the characteristics of a human. It stood on two legs and it had fingers and thumbs, but it growled like an animal. It had fangs but no fur. It's skin was flushed with thick lines of blue and purple. It claws cut through a sofa like it was butter and then he picked it up and hurled it against the glass as if it weighed no more than a feather. She screamed. It was a monster. It's eyes were wild and angry.

"He can't hurt you." John took her shoulders from behind to prevent her from fleeing. "He used to be just like you and me." his voice was laced with agony and pain. "We were in the same platoon. We survived boot camp together."

"What happened to him?"

"Five years ago, we were approached by Heyman. They wanted to inject us with this super serum. It was experimental of course, but it was supposed to make us stronger and faster. There were fifteen of us in the new platoon. They gave each one of us a different set of injections and it affected each of us differently."

"Are you like him?"

"All my injection did was cure my bad eyes. I have unnatural eye sight now. I can't see through walls or anything." he tried to laugh through the lump in his throat. "but I can read small print from across a room." she heard him sigh. "I watched three of my comrades die, screaming and clawing at their bodies almost immediately after they received the shots. The others all gained something, but it messed with their minds. The animal DNA infected their brains and no matter what they did to counter it, they couldn't bring them back."

"Are they caged too?"

"No. Some of them suffered brain hemorrhaging and the rest they disposed of. Everyone but Ryback."

"Why not him?"

"He still has a chance. Ryback's the one that went right."

"That doesn't look right to me."

"No, but it's better than dead. I've always been some what of a geek." he explained. "I guess the formula I got helped me a little more than I let on. You see, I wasn't always like this. I used to be a pencil. Lanky. But my muscles grew with every injections. After they gave up on me, I kept working out so I wouldn't loose it and I took this job so I can put my real talent to use and help my friend." He tapped his brain. "I've never really been normal myself and I'm damn sure not the jock I appear to be."

Jaymie stepped forward and touched the glass. It was hard to believe that the snarling beast she saw was a man. Her heart raced when his eyes locked on her. He slowly moved her way and she made herself watch him. She had to get a closer look. Face to face she stared into his eyes. The longer she stared the more she saw the human inside of him. His palm rested on hers through the glass and before her eyes the beast melted away leaving a man. A man who stared with soft blue eyes filled with longing and sadness.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryback sat on the new sofa and watched as John and the new woman talked outside. She held a clipboard and jotted down things from time to time as John pointed and spoke. He didn't know what John was up to and he wished he would turn on the speakers so he could listen in.

It was the woman who intrigued him the most. She didn't look like she was a scientist or even a nurse. She didn't stare coldly at him like the military broads did. She wore her long red hair loose and her frame wasn't petite, but she wasn't an amazon either. He thought her beautiful and thought about how she was his type and how he might have asked her out if his situation was different.

He picked up the tablet in front of him, a high tech remote that worked everything in the home, and he turned on the radio. He laid back on the sofa and closed his eyes. There were some things he could enjoy that no one could spy on. He still had his imagination and his dreams. Those were all his.

"I know you're not sleeping." He looked up and found John standing over him. He glanced toward the glass where the woman stood on the outside.

"Why don't you invite your friend in?"

"No." John stated boldly. "You know better than that."

"New girlfriend?"

"When have I ever brought my girlfriends in this place? Get up and come meet her." Ryback stood and followed John to the glass. He smiled but it didn't take away the fear he saw in her eyes. He hated the way people looked at him.

"Ryback, This is Jaymie."

"Call me Ryan, sweetie." Ryback attempted to flirt. "So, John hired you to be his slave girl?" In the old days he could make a girl laugh easily, but it wouldn't work with Jaymie, not after she had seen him in full beast mode.

"She's going to be a great asset." John agreed then he began to explain to Ryback what he wanted to do.

"you're going to live in here with me all the time?" Ryback was skeptical. "John I don't think that's a good idea. You know I can't control..."

"I'm taking care of that." he assured him. "we are going to figure this out."

"I'm not sure about this." John was his only friend and he knew it would kill him if he hurt him during one of his outbursts.

"I have this." he held out a syringe.

"What is that?"

"A new formula." John turned it over in his hands.

"What will it do to me?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping it will clear the infection out of your brain."

"You're a mad man, John." But he held out his arm anyway. "I don't see how you can keep it out of one part of my body and not the rest."

"It's science, not witchcraft. Turn around. I need to inject this into the base of your skull." John stuck the needle where he wanted it and pressed the plunger to deliver the medicine. "Now, we just wait and see."

"You better get out of here … just in case." John went to stand beside Jaymie and they both watched for reactions.

Jaymie watched as Ryback dropped to the floor. John began to scream out orders to the people behind the glass and he ran to the room to read the computer screens. Jaymie followed him and was in awe of all the things they were able to see without hooking up a wire to Ryback.

It showed the serum moving through out his brain, but it only worried John more when it began to move to other parts of his body.

"It's eating the cells." A man told him pointing to another screen. "It's destroying them."

"What?" John took over the man's chair and watched. "I'm not sure what kind of cells it's destroying. I need blood samples. Jaymie," he wrote a small list on a sticky note and then handed it to her. "I need these things from my lab. If you don't know what to look for my aid will help you. Not a word about anything."

"Of course." she hurried off to collect what he needed while he went to his friend side and began to draw blood. ON the way back she scanned her own prints to get inside and it made her feel important that she was one of only ten who could gain access.

John had already cleared a spot for his microscope by the time she returned and he quickly put slides in it so he could watch the cells.

"It's destroying the animal DNA." he laughed. "I didn't expect this." he watched it for hours and seemed extremely happy. It seemed he had accidentally created a cure. He sent her out again to retrieve cots for both of them and they spent the night in the corridor outside Ryback's enclosure. John barely slept. He was honestly worried about his friend and she couldn't fall asleep easily because of the strange surroundings. Finally she was able to catch a short nap.

When she awoke, she found John asleep, but Ryback was awake. He was standing at the glass watching them sleep and he had a strange look in his eyes. His appearance still appeared human, but his eyes were no longer blue. They were yellow. He sneered, curling his lip to expose fangs that seemed slightly more prominent than before. She tried to remember, but wasn't sure. But she could have sworn that they had receded when he wasn't in beast mode.

He tapped on the glass and pointed to a button, but she didn't want to touch it without John's permission. She wasn't sure what the controls worked. She mouthed I'm sorry and tried to close her eyes, but a loud boom made her sit straight up. John was on his feet, shocked. The glass was shattered, an alarm began to blare and Ryback stepped out and slowly approached. His eyes were set on her. She rose to her feet, but she couldn't move any further. She was frozen, her eyes locked with his.

"Ryan! Stop!" John yelled at him, but he didn't respond. John took his arm and was tossed away with only a shrug. Ryback backed her against the wall.

"Shoot him!" she heard a shrill voice and looked over to see Heyman screaming out commands. "Shoot! Shoot!" the room was kayos. John was begging them not to shoot, people were screaming, but Ryback didn't seem to want to hurt anyone. He turned toward the MP's with their guns and she saw him begin to change. She reached out before she could stop herself. She took his hand and he looked at her. There was something more docile in his eyes despite his animal appearance.

"Shoot him!" As the shots rang out, he pounced taking her to the ground.

"Hold your fire!"John screamed getting between the guns and his friend.

"Get out of the way, John."

"You're willing to kill an innocent woman to destroy him?" Heyman's mouth dropped and he stared at her as if he had only just noticed she was there. "Look, he's not hurting her."

Ryback sat up and touched her cheek. He scanned Jaymie to see if she had been hit. The small circle of blood seeping through her sleeve answered his question. He roared and leapt into the air. He tore the guns from their hands, broke them in half and growled to warn them. Then he turned to Heyman and snarled.

"Ryback." John touched his shoulder. He breathed heavily. He wanted to kill the man who had been the cause, then he remembered he was the one who had broken out. He was the one who had started it. He was to blame. He went back to the woman who had captured him from the moment he had seen her and he knew something was different. Not just with his abilities, but in his heart.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're working later and later these days." Amanda was on stuck on the couch in front of the television eating her chocolate candies by the handful.

"How is it that you don't weight a ton?" Jaymie collapsed beside her and took a handful of the candy out of the dish and popped them into her mouth.

"I need my sugar high. I swear you won't believe my day. The freaking twin capucci's got out of the cage today and they destroyed the entire lab.

"Really? Guess what broke out of its cage in my department today?"

"You're kidding?"

"Nope." Jaymie laid her head on her friends shoulder. She had confided in Amanda despite how John forbade it, but she knew Amanda would never tell another soul and it was only natural for her to confide to Amanda who did the same. It wasn't like they were total strangers from outside the base.

Jaymie had never trusted anyone the way she trusted Amanda.

"I've seen him before." Amanda admitted. "You must have been terrified. Was he completely animal?"

"No." she turned sideways and pulled her leg under her. "He was somewhere in between until they started shooting.

"They shot at him."

"Shot us." she showed her the bandage on her upper arm.

"They shot you!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Amanda, Ryan protected me."

"Now you're just pulling my leg. That thing destroys and kills everything in it's path."

"I'm not kidding. He covered me with his body and he's not a thing. He's a human being."

"I think you're spending way too much time in the lab." Amanda said. "Don't get attached, Jaymie. He's no different than the lab rats in the basement."

"I'm trying so hard to do like you said, but its so hard to feel indifference to a person."

"I really wish you would let me talk to the boss and get you reassigned. I don't like you working so closely with John. He's careless and he takes too many risks."

"John's great and I honestly don't think Ryan would hurt me."

"You've already been hurt because of him.

"I know. But I'm finally fascinated by something around here and I feel like I'm part of John's work. Not just the girl with the mop.

"I had to do a lot of smooth talking with Heyman to keep him from executing you and shutting down this whole damn program."

"Well, you've always been the king of bullshit, John." Ryan grinned. "I'm sorry. What else can I say? You're the one who injected me with that crap."

John sat down and sighed. "you know for a moment I thought it was reversing the damage. I actually saw the animal cells dying."

"That's good." Ryback felt hopeful. "How many more injections do I need to take?"

"None, the cells fought back. They mutated and changed. I'm not even sure you are the same as before. It obviously made you stronger. I had to have new glass made. I just hope it works or we'll be looking at steel walls."

"I do feel different. I feel like I'm in control for the first time."

"We'll have to start testing that theory." John laughed. "you sure didn't seem in control earlier."

"Okay, so I'm not completely in control, but I think I could be." he scratched his head.

The next day when Jaymie arrived, he shut the blinds and he did everything he could not to think about her, but it wasn't easy. Seeing her being so cautious with her wounded arm made him feel horrible. He had started to feel something for her. Maybe it was because she was now part of his every day life. Of course she never spoke to him like John did, but still she was one of the only people he could count on being there every day.

To make matters worse, Heyman was lurking around. He would pull open the blinds and study him. John was in and out drawing blood and testing him in ways that made his head hurt. All he wanted to do was go for a walk, but that wasn't possible so he stood at the window and stared at the town below. On the outskirts he could see a tiny speck of a house. It was surrounded by a good piece of land and there was a barn on it. He imagined he would enjoy living on a farm and raising animals. He imagined himself riding horses with someone special, holding hands as they galloped side by side. But that was a problem because he could only see one woman in his fantasy and he could not shake her from his fantasies. Finally, he had to admit that he was developing a crush on Jaymie.

"I finally found the woman of my dreams and I can't even ask her out." he talked to himself. He did that often.

"That's insane!" His speakers were on and he could hear John arguing with Heyman. Nothing new. Then the corner slid into the ceiling. He calmly turned expecting John to sit down and pop a beer as he always did when he was upset. Instead he saw Heyman, staring him down with that twisted smile. He had something cooking upstairs and Ryback already knew he wasn't going to like it.

"It seems you're less of a monster these days." he snarled. "Tests are in and I've been thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself." Ryback snarled back. Just the way Heyman sneered set him off. He could smell the guys evil intentions and could sense he had a cold heart. Ryback felt his temper rise with every step Heyman took inside his sanctuary. Then Heyman snatched up the remote from the table and he felt territorial and the beast was unleashed.

Heyman turned pale and started shaking his head as Ryback growled showing the pointed teeth that never went away anymore. He screamed out a warning, the only control he had to try and save his prey.

Heyman took a step back with every step Ryback took forward. Te faster he moved the heavier he breathed. He became panicked and when they reached the door they were too close to each other for him to have the door slammed shut between them, so Heyman grabbed for the closet barricade he could place between himself and the angry animal – Jaymie. He snatched her, pulled her in front of him and when Ryback still kept coming, he shoved her causing her to plow into Ryback's claws.


	6. Chapter 6

Jaymie's next breath caught in her throat. She could not make herself release it and found herself hyperventilating. Ryback had her in his clutches, his long talons were cutting into the top of her arms and he was dragging her back into his enclosure. She screamed and soon found that was a mistake because it seemed to enrage him more. His eyes became more demented and he slammed her hard against the glass wall. She began to cry, terrified tears streamed down her face and she mouthed her pleas.

Outside she could see John yelling, but she couldn't hear him. He was as helpless as she was because Heyman had his M.P. Hold him back. The man stood on the other side of the glass as if he was interested in seeing what Ryback would do to her. She thought he was more of an animal in that moment because he had all the resources to come to her aid and he forbade any attempt to rescue.

Ryback eyed him and then John, then the beast smiled. A sick, menacing grin then his lips grazed her neck, then he struck, sinking his sharp fangs into her flesh. Never in her life has she felt anything more painful and she knew the wet feeling running down her blouse was from the fresh wound. She tried to brace herself for what she was sure was coming, but how could she prepare for her own skin being ripped apart?

John watched in horror as his best friend violently attacked his employee. But Jaymie was more than that. She was a friend and he had started to feel a bit more. The minute he saw her being attacked, he could not deny his attraction and it cut him deep. He was torn because her murderer was someone he cared deeply about too. The way Ryback locked his eyes on him made him believe that he knew what John felt and when he was an animal, he could never distinguish right from wrong, but he did know jealousy. Like any animal, Ryback attacked what took john's attention from him and all he could do was beg him to stop until he saw Jaymie's arms fall to her sides, her body relaxed, then Ryback grinned again and dropped the blinds. John dropped his head and tried to get rid of the bloody images of what he would find when he was finally able to get inside the enclosure.

"You asshole!" he screamed as soon as he was released. He stormed at Heyman and delivered a hard punch to his jaw. The only thing that got him was a military prison sentence. Ninety days, but it was a blessing because he didn't have to see that beautiful sweet woman mutilated. It was hard enough knowing she was no longer part of the world and he would need time to work through his feelings and forgive his friend, but his first night brought him nothing but bitter thoughts of revenge.

Ryback easily maneuvered Jaymie on to his bed and he dropped down on top of her. His bite had made her more subdued and she stared up at him in his monster state, fear still visible, but her body did not tremble nor was it tense. He ran his tongue over his top lip then touched hers. He could sense her body and both parts of him were equally hungry but in different ways. While the human in him was lustful, the animal part was on a mission and it won the battle, preventing him from suppressing the animal and what he was doing was out of his control and he did not want to admit that the man wanted it as well.

Jaymie was terrified while he slowly and surprisingly carefully, his claws sliced her tee shirt, then with one simple jerk, he ripped her jeans in half and she was paralyzed beneath him. He let out a loud roar as he took her and that was when the creature slightly rescinded and his touch became softer. She stared into his eyes and felt something she had known all along was inside of him. Despite the circumstances she moaned and found pleasure she had never experienced before. He didn't seem to want the love making to end and eventually the paralyzing effects began to wear off and she was clinging to him until he stopped and ran a finger from the middle of her breasts to her belly button.

"I think we're going to have a baby." and she began to panic, but he had a cure for her panic and again she felt the searing pain of his bite to her neck.

The sun coming up over the hill poured through the large window and woke Ryback from his sleep. He sat up and ran his hands over his face. The nightmare he'd had the night before had actually turned into something nice. He laid his head back down on his pillow and put his hands behind his head. It had been so wonderful. He had kissed a woman again and he had felt her touch on his skin. He sighed remembering that all he had was his dreams. Then his heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he heard the soft sigh coming from the very bed he was laying in. He pulled back the blanket and his mouth dropped.


End file.
